James Osgood Andrew
1794 - 1871
As pastor of St. John Methodist Episcopal Church in Augusta, James Osgood Andrew was the first native Georgian to be elected bishop in the Methodist Church. He moved to Oxford in 1840 when the Methodist Church announced its intention of establishing a Methodist college there, and became one of its founding trustees. Four years later, Bishop Andrew found himself in the center of an historic controversy at the General Conference of 1844 over the issue of slavery. The evolving abolitionist movement was taking hold in the north and it was the position of the northern Methodist clergy that slavery was contrary to the principles of Methodism. Therefore, they insisted that bishops not be permitted to own slaves. Recently ordained Bishop Andrew became the focal point of the heated debate – particularly with respect to his ownership of a slave named "Kitty." The conference voted 110 to 69 on a resolution to depose him as bishop until his connection to slavery had ended. The southern clergy, many of whom were also slave owners, split from their northern counterparts and formed an independent body, which they called the Methodist Episcopal Church South. This division within the Methodist church was to remain in place for nine decades. Although most Southern clergy agreed that slavery was a “moral evil,” they claimed that taking an abolition stance would undermine their influence over the slaveholders in their congregations. The first General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church South met in Petersburg, Virginia in 1846. Andrew presided over the conference as Senior Bishop.
After the split, episcopal work continued much as before. Bishop Andrew became Presiding Elder in one of the largest districts of southern Methodism. A confirmed moderate, he would not defend slavery, nor would he advocate abolition. When the inevitability of civil war was apparent, he encouraged, albeit reluctantly, for the south to “defend itself.” He retired in 1866, but continued to conduct church conferences as his failing health permitted. He died in 1871 at the home of his daughter and son-in-law in Mobile, Alabama and is buried in the Oxford Historical Cemetery.
After the split, episcopal work continued much as before. Bishop Andrew became Presiding Elder in one of the largest districts of southern Methodism. A confirmed moderate, he would not defend slavery, nor would he advocate abolition. When the inevitability of civil war was apparent, he encouraged, albeit reluctantly, for the south to “defend itself.” He retired in 1866, but continued to conduct church conferences as his failing health permitted. He died in 1871 at the home of his daughter and son-in-law in Mobile, Alabama and is buried in the Oxford Historical Cemetery.